Max Baucus: “the Public Buildings Reform Act will go a long way to helping Congress make wise decisions on public buildings…”

“the Public Buildings Reform Act will go a long way to helping Congress make wise decisions on public buildings construction. It will help Congress achieve some discipline with respect to the cost of new federal buildings and courthouses. Specifically, the bill will bring some sanity to the courthouse construction program. I have been working on the courthouse construction program for quite some time. And the more I have learned about the program, the more concerned I have become. It is very important that we reform the courthouse construction program and this bill will do that. Why? Because the budget requests for new courthouses get larger and larger each year. Let me give examples from the last five years of budget requests--in FY 1993, the courthouse construction program request was $132 million or 22 percent of the GSA budget request; in FY 1994, the courthouse construction program request was $566 million or 76 percent of GSA's budget request; in FY 1995, courthouse requests were $419 million or 87 percent; in FY 1996, courthouse requests were $639 million or 63 percent and this year, FY 1997, courthouse requests are $632 million or 88 percent.”